Today, many employers use social media as one of the tools to consider and determine the job candidates. Social media is the online persona of each person reflecting their lifestyle, behavior, attitudes, etc. The company looks at those online profiles which help them determine whether each candidate is fit to their organization. Unlike other social media, LinkedIn is the largest professional online community. Many companies and professionals in various fields communicate and participate in this online society. Most companies post job openings on LinkedIn and they also use LinkedIn to find out the people who might be a good fit to their company. This is a big opportunity for the new graduates to impress the employers by the professional profile. The following are the tips you should do to set up and polish your LinkedIn profile in order to increase the opportunity to get the job.

1.Choose an appropriate profile photo
The first thing you should do on the LinkedIn page is uploading profile photo. The profile photo is kind of the first thing that gains people’s attention. If you don’t have the profile photo, the employers might ignore to view your page. The most important thing to remember is choosing an appropriate photo. LinkedIn is not Facebook or Instagram. I don’t think the employers will feel impressed to see your party pictures as the profile photo. So, pick a good quality photo that you look professional!

2.Write a good headline
The headline is a short statement which you introduce yourself to the recruiters. It is the first thing that appears after your name. So, use this space to identify your selling points and area of work you are interested in.Good tips for writing a perfect headline

3.Use a keyword
In the skills and endorsement section, you should include the keywords that relate to the job you’re looking for. The more relevant keywords you have in your profile, the higher you are on a recruiter’s search rankings. This increases the chances of your profile getting noticed. In addition to industry buzzwords, such as creative, responsible and strategic, you should include the specific words of tools or programs for each industry, such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Google analytics.

4. Get recommendations
Also, in the endorsement section, you should have someone on your connections, such as the previous employers and the professors, writing at least one recommendation for you in this section. This section helps to endorse your listed skills or experiences and it basically makes your profile more credibility.

5. Complete the summary
Summary section is where you advertise about yourself. Talk about your unique selling points, goals, and personality. You might describe your motivation, passion, experience and what are you good at. Don’t forget to include some keywords that the recruiters might search for.

6. Show your achievement
On the LinkedIn profile, there are many sections that you can present your achievement. So, fill it up! You can include GPA, certifications, honors and award, courses, or projects that demonstrate your skills. In addition, you can include the real examples of your works, such as your writing and design portfolio, on the LinkedIn profile page.

7. Join the groups
You should join the groups that relate to your target industry. You should be active and participate in discussions of the groups. This helps you have the connection and create your professional brand. Not only the job opportunity you can get, but also the knowledge you can gain from other experts.

8. Make your profile page public
In the settings, change your LinkedIn profile page to public and also create a personal URL. For example,www.linkedin.com/in/JohnSmith. When people search for you online, this will help your page have a higher rank in a Google search.

I think these are some great tips that will help you have some ideas to start setting up your LinkedIn profile page properly and professionally. Thank you for reading!

I think most new graduates feel scared and stressed when thinking about the job interview. Especially for the first time interview, the stress, excitement, and anxiety might decrease our potential to present ourselves to the employers. The best way to handle and nail it is to make sure you’re prepared. The following are the steps that I think will be useful and help you get ready for the interview.

1.Do your homework
It’s important that you need to know the basic information about the company you interview for. The interviewer will expect you to know quite a bit about their company. Therefore, do some research about the organization. At least, go to read the information on the company’s website.You should know what they do, the competitors, and the current situation of their industry.You can go beyond that by reading the business magazines, newspapers, or industry journals. This will help you have some information to develop answers when you are faced with the specific questions. In addition, if it’s possible, try to get the inside information by talking with some of the company’s employees.

2.Prepare for the typical interview questions
The best way to handle and reduce the stress for the interview is preparing beforehand and practicing answers for some typical interview questions, especially, the toughest questions that you fear the most. The most common questions asked by the interviewers are :

When you answer the questions, remember that your answers should focus on how you will benefit and add value to the organization,not just about yourself.
When you struggle with some questions during the interview, it is okay to say “ That’s a tough question” and pause to think before answering.Try to complete and respond the questions as best you can and avoid the answers that are lengthy and rambling.The interviewers like and want answers that are concise, complete, focused, and relevant.

3. Develop examples from your resume related to the job you’re seeking.
Identify your top skills and experiences on your resume. Think about examples that explain and prove those points. You can describe the situations and problems you deal with. Then explain what you did to fix it and and finally, the outcomes of the problems. Try to demonstrate your personal contributions.

4. Prepare to ask good questions
During the interview process, you’ll be asked whether you have any questions. You shouldn’t say “No” because asking questions demonstrates your level of interest in the job. This is also an opportunity for you to find out information about the company and decide whether you are fit to that organization. You should prepare 3-6 questions or jot some down during the interview. These are examples of what you might ask the interviewers.

Can you describe the characteristics of your ideal candidate for this job?

Is there a training program for this position; what does it consist of ?

Are there any travel requirements? Relocation expectation?

Based on good performance, could this job lead to career growth opportunities within the company?

Could you tell me about the people with whom I would be working? To whom would I report, and who would be my peers and subordinates?

However, there are some questions that you should not ask, especially in the first interview. The interviewers might feel unimpressed if you are too enthusiastic to ask these questions.

What does your company do ?

How much does the job pay?

What are the hours of this position?

How many sick days do I get?

How much time off do I get?

If I’m hired, when can I begin applying for other roles within the company?

Do you do background checks?

5. Practice Practice and Practice
Practice makes everything better. It can help you have more confidence and reduce the pressure. You should practice interviewing out loud with counselors, mentors, adults, or even in the mirror. Practicing out loud makes you hear the words you intend to speak, including the tone, emphasis, inflections and facial expression which is very important in the interview. According to the book “How to make it happen” by Harwood, attitude which includes enthusiasm, energy, likeability,smile, optimism, and confidence accounts for 40% of the factors that make the interview successful. The second factors are image/appearance and verbal and nonverbal communication. Each accounts for 25%, followed by job qualification 10%.

6. Be Professional
First impressions really matter. As I mention above that image and appearance including dress and grooming is a significant decision factor for the interviewer, so make sure that you dress and behave properly and professionally. This factor demonstrates the level of your interest
in the job. In addition to going to the interview, you should bring these materials with you.

Your business portfolio ; transcript, letter of recommendation, etc.

Spare copies of your resume

Names, addresses, and telephone numbers of 3-6 personal and professional references

Pens and pencils

A notebook with a list of questions for the interviewer.

Photo credit : Pmtips.net

7.Know Where You’re Going
The worst thing that you don’t want to happen on the interview day is being late. You must have precise and good directions to the company ahead of time, and if you can, practice traveling to the site. Being late because of getting lost is an unacceptable excuse.

8. Relax and take a rest
Get a good night’s sleep , so you will be ready and fresh for your interview day.

9.Finish strong and follow up.
The closing statement is important. Tell or show them how much you are excited and interested in this opportunity and why you are fit for this job and organization. Also, you should ask and clarify the next steps and the timeline. You can ask about the decision date , so you can follow up. Finally, send a personally tailored thank-you letter or email to each interviewer (if more than one interviewer) within 24 hours after the interview. The thank you note is a sign of your interest and professionalism.

]]>https://suphachablog.wordpress.com/2015/11/12/job-interview-preparation-for-new-grads/feed/4suphachajJob interview. Businesswoman having a job interview. [url=http://www.istockphoto.com/search/lightbox/9786622][img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/40117171/business.jpg[/img][/url]Photo credit : Pmtips.netJob Outlook for Recent Graduateshttps://suphachablog.wordpress.com/2015/10/30/job-outlook-for-recent-graduates/
https://suphachablog.wordpress.com/2015/10/30/job-outlook-for-recent-graduates/#commentsFri, 30 Oct 2015 04:12:46 +0000http://suphachablog.wordpress.com/?p=13Continue Reading →]]>This is a good news for me that the job outlook for 2016 college graduates seems so bright. According to a forecast from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), the employers plan to increase hiring of 2016 college graduates 11%. This is the result from the recovering of the economy which stimulates the industrial growth and the Baby Boomers retirement. With the expected unemployment rate at 4.8%, the 2016 graduating class is among the luckiest in decades. We will be starting first jobs with an unemployment rate below the average of the past 40 years.

Which organizations that we should start to apply for the jobs? The answer is the small companies seem to give you the better chance. The report from the Michigan State University shows that small companies with fewer than 100 employees would increase the largest percent in hiring. These small firms would hire 39 percent more new college graduates while large organizations with more than 1,500 workers would hire 16 percent more college grads.

The students earning bachelor’s degrees are most in demand for all sizes of the companies and industries. Especially for the college graduates with the degree in business, engineering, and computer and information sciences, the job market has a high demand and really welcome for them.

Attributes employers seek on a candidate’s resume

Source: Job Outlook 2015, National Association of Colleges and Employers

What should you put in your resume? We can consider from of the report of 2015 which might continue to 2016. Besides a student’s GPA, the trend of employers in 2015 is focusing on teamwork and leadership skills as the most important attributes of the candidates. According to the report of NACE, almost 78 percent of employers is looking for the ability to work in a team and evidence to prove that of the candidates. The second skill to that is the ability to make decisions and solve problems and the verbal communication skills come in the third place.

How about the money? The average salary for bachelor’s degree graduates from Class of 2015 is $50,651. Recently, the report of Michigan State University projects that starting salaries across the board for 2016 graduates will rise modestly, by 2% to 5%, though some professions, like engineering and information technology, will have bigger increases.

Overall, it looks good for us to find our first jobs. So be ready new grads, clean up your resume and prepare yourself!

Hi ! guys, I am Suphacha Jitthai. You can call me Pat. I’m Thai. I was born in Bangkok, Thailand. Right now, I’m a senior at Plymouth State University and my major is Business Administration. I will graduate in this December and plan to pursue the career in the marketing and advertising field. Hopefully, it will work for me. I also interest in every kind of art and music. Most of my free time is spent on drawing and finding a good music. Hope you guys will enjoy and get some knowledge from my blog.